At the beginning of the season, Jackie Johnson heard whispers that the Eden Prairie squad might not have enough basketballs to go around. After all, they had a roster full of offensive standouts.

But Tuesday afternoon at the Dick's Sporting Goods Classic at Hopkins, the Eagles proved once again with a 74-38 group effort victory over St. Paul Central (6-3) that they are pretty good at sharing.

"We're playing pretty good basketball right now," coach Chris Carr said afterward, noting that a different scorer has led the team in seven of the Eagles' first nine games.

It helps when there are a lot of points to be had. This time, it was Johnson who led the pack, with 18 points, but she got plenty of help: She was one of 13 players to score.

While Johnson is a threat in the field and on the perimeter, she calls teammate Morgan VanRiper-Rose "one of the best shooters in the state." Guards Shayne Mullaney and Aubrey Davis are ruthless in driving to the basket. And the Eagles' bench is solid too. Guards Taylor Uhl and Carley Tibbetts had 13 and six points in reserve. And while several of the girls have seen personal statistics shrink, the team (8-1) is blossoming.

The wide range of skills showed. Eden Prairie shot 56 percent from the field, sank nine three-pointers and kept the Minutemen off kilter, scoring 30 points off turnovers.

"I'm thankful that we have really good balance," Carr said. "And I felt they came out with good intensity, and that set the tone."

Minnetonka rallies

Minnetonka launched a notable comeback, besting Prior Lake 68-47 after falling behind 28-15 to start the game.

"I think it was just a slow start," said Ali McArthur, the Skippers' leading scorer with 19 points. "We had prior knowledge of the team, and we just kind of realized we needed to get our energy up.

Midway through the first half, Minnetonka (6-1) called a timeout and coach Bart Inniger reminded his squad that they were the better team.

A few minutes later, the Skippers launched a 22-5 run and put the Lakers – who shot just 15.8 percent in the second half after hitting more than 46 percent in the first – in the rear-view mirror for good.

"It was bad," said Prior Lake (1-6) center Megan Pold, emerging from the locker room long after the game was over, with red eyes. "We just kind of went south on ourselves and started turning the ball over."

Eastview holds on

Eastview (8-0) lost one of its best players in the first half but held on to an early double-digit lead to beat Maple Grove 60-50 in a physical, defensive game.

"I thought we matched up really well with them," coach Paul Goetz said. "That's kind of our style; we always play really aggressive, and we try to make the other team fall into that."

Maple Grove (7-2) did early, but rallied after Eastview guard Amanda Beckman went down because of an ankle sprain. Maple Grove went on a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to nine.

"I think the girls were a little worried; I know Amanda's sister (Alex) was looking over at her. But they showed great poise in getting back in it," Goetz said.

Alex Beckman scored 17 points in her sister's absence.

The tournament continues at Hopkins on Wednesday, with St. Paul Central and Prior Lake competing in the consolation semifinals at 2 p.m., and Maple Grove facing the loser of the Osseo/Hopkins game at 4.

Winners Eden Prairie and Minnetonka will meet at 6 in the semifinals, and Eastview matches with the winner of the Osseo/Hopkins game at 8.